108 thoughts on “LIVE: Mayo v Sligo Connacht U20 semi-final”

  4. Sligo definitely better team so far. Clear game plan. Everyone drops deep when not in possession and quick counter, fast ball inside. Mayo will need a big improvement to win this folks 1-4 to 0-9 approaching HT

  5. Good game of football. I think we have the wind. Sligo well on top, Dolan keeping us in the game with all those saves.

  6. Mayo lucky to be only two down
    Sligo seem to be able to get scores a lot easier than Mayo

  7. We have it all to do in second half. Sligo have been excellent and an extra man for. a good few minutes in second half. Two great points by Tuohy and a well worked goal but other than that very much second best. Hard to know with that wind, but Sligo forward look top class.

  8. hard to tell…it seems cross field but I’d imagine it favours Mayo. No penetration from us…
    Sligo are defending well though.

  9. @MO2121.

    That’s what I thought it looked like, a cross field wind looking at the flags by the goals.

    Still all to play for but have to agree with above, Sligo getting the scores a bit easier so far.

  10. Sligo 0-9 to 1-4 up at half-time. Full value for it too: they’ve taken over completely since midway through the half, scoring five without reply to lead by two at the break. Sligo are far more direct in attack (their handpasses tend go forward, ours go lateral), they’re more accurate in front of the posts and they’re defending in numbers, protecting the D very well. We’ll be hard pressed to get a result here.

  11. Sligo playing much better, more direct and better coached. This will take a serious improvement if this is to turned around. I would not bet on it happening though.

  12. Some super scores from both team teams , it’s really hard to no which team the wind is favouring it’s seems to change, Sligo look good on the break and getting their scores easier, defensively we’re loose we’ve it all to do second half

  13. I’m guessing this is a knockout tie?

    We got cleaned out around the middle for the entire second quarter there. The one saving grace is that it looked like Sligo had a wind advantage in the first half.

  14. Can’t believe posters are saying that the football is good. Mayo are playing backwards handball.
    Brutal stuff but unfortunately it’s creeping down to the younger groups now.
    I’m not watching any more of that rubbish.

  16. Its a knock out tie alright It Means Nothing to Me and I really hope that we were playing against a strong wind in that first half based on our slow lateral play!!!

  17. Wind or no wind if we don’t up our game in second half we will be out. Sligo playing smart intelligent football. Our forward play disjointed and laboured.
    Let us see how we manage this in g to be second half and the black card

  18. Not looking good, very much 2nd best can be thankful only 3 behind going into the final 20 mins.

  23. Sligo pulling away now, totally on top. We need goals to try and steal this one. Our hand passing has been so sloppy which is disappointing from a coaching stand point. No matter what the level of talent you should be able to hand pass accurately to your team mates chest!!

  25. Awful stuff from Mayo, they are beat in every facet, what sort of system are we supposed to be playing to!!, management need to be held to account for a performance like this, no disrespect to Sligo, they look a good team, but we look rudderless.

  26. Can’t tackle, cleaned in midfield, trying to run the ball constantly and only kick passes have been hail marys which we’ve lost.
    Sligo are a good team though

  27. Fair play to Sligo, they play a nice brand of football. Mayo are simply not good enough as a wise man once said.

  30. Not sure how releasing the two lads from the senior panel to be available for this is going to help them.

  31. Very disappointing show by our lads there.. simply not good enough and perhaps lucky that this a knockout competition

  32. Excellent performance from Sligo but it has to said that this is a very poor performance from Mayo, they look like players who have not trained together with no attacking plan. Well done Sligo and reflects positively on great work being done underage in the county.

  33. They look absolutely clueless, how did Sheridan get another year managing this team.

    It’s a complete shambles, handpassing up the pitch and walking into a wall of Sligo defenders.

    My god, it’s hard to watch to be honest. Not one player has played well.

  34. Very poor really disjointed, Sligo definitely wanting it more we’re outclassed by a really good organised Sligo team all over the pitch so disappointing

  36. At least last year, we were unlucky to lose to Sligo. The style of football looks just as bad though as we produced then. There’s not many redeeming features here.

  37. It looks like a well organised, determined team who know exactly what they’re meant to be doing, versus the opposite.

  38. Small looking mayo team for U20s a hammering by sligo on the cards. Attack reminiscent of the seniors. I really wonder about the coaching ability at all levels.

  39. Did we expect Sheridan to change his spots this year? Sunday was bad but this is on a different level altogether. We are going backwards with this style of play. Marking space and not the man. I hope Bob isn’t mentally scared having to go along with this excuse for football.

  40. The attack really is reminiscent of the seniors, Thatteamwontstart. Thats awful stuff altogether.

  41. Mayo showing some urgency the last ten minutes here but you have to ask where was it for the previous fifty. We played at a pedestrian pace for most of that game. Very disappointing performance to produce in a knock out championship game.

  43. Is this going down faking injury shite to waste time going to be a new tactic for teams to play out time, well if it is football is truly finished

  44. We’ve been hammered out the gate tonight with several of last year’s minors and Callanan and Tuohy starting. I find it difficult to believe that these players are not capable of better.

    Sligo looked to be very well coached and make good decisions on the ball, have played the conditions well. We look indecisive and clueless in comparison. By far the better side and good luck to them in the next round.

    Three years without so much as a Connacht title tells its own story, time for someone else to get an opportunity with what is still a promising group next year. Hopefully someone who will play attacking football and not the sterile muck we’ve seen these past few years.

  45. Well done Sligo. Well deserved. Our style of play is sad to watch but fair play to the lads for trying.
    `Maigheo abu!

  46. Thank God that’s over!! Having said that, I think that’s a fairly good Sligo team

  47. Sligo 0-17 Mayo 1-9 FT. Fully merited win for the Yeats County, congrats to them.

    All – please exercise a bit of caution in what you have to say. This was an underage match and comments need to reflect this.

  48. Shocking display from Mayo.No ideas whatever from management…going backwards even when well down whereas Sligo took on their men.
    Won’t say anymore on management but hard to watch for a Mayoman.Naive stuff.

  52. Can’t believe that posters are saying this is good. It’s the same as last year and if there’s a silver lining one hopes it will mean that we never approach senior football in the same way. Two years in a row of the most disappointing football I’ve seen played by our county at any level. Commiserations to the players.

  53. Poor tactics and set up, lateral laboured hand passing and no urgency until the last 10 when the game was already lost. second year in a row at this level where the tactical set up has been wrong, I’ll say no more. Sligo much more direct and the better side, congrats to them

  54. Sligo have won both A and B schools titles so worth bearing in mind, they are a very good side.

    Is our underage development setup fit for purpose??

  55. If our u20 management team of the last two years were in charge of the Kerry u20s the last two years – would they have been reappointed in Kerry again for a third year? Would they f#$%.
    How the people in the county board decided our u20s of the last two years were well coached and the manager deserved a third year beggars belief.
    Once again our attempts at forward play were very very poor. Sligo taught us a lesson in that regard. Well done Sligo.

  56. One Connacht u-20 title since 2016. Remember we have a much bigger playing population than Sligo for GAA purposes…why has there been a gradual decline in our underage teams over the past few years?

  57. Dont even know what to say after that , well done sligo , well drilled , gritty , organised, determined and well managed .
    just insert all opposite words and that sums up our effort . Dont worry there will be a few who will still fight sheridans corner and start ranting about some utter scutter about sigerson .

  58. Andy Moran for manager of the Under 20’s ok he didnt do too well against NY but he’d have these guys pumped to go through a brick wall for Mayo

  59. Can’t understand why we keep shooting ourselves in the foot in Mayo… clueless by management, move on!!!

  60. I agree with you WJ, lot of young lads out there doing their best.
    The criticism today has to go elsewhere and praise to the Sligo setup.
    Our style of play today was shocking and clueless. No plan B or even a proper implementation of the Plan A. Change required.

  62. Does anyone know who the Kieran murphy selector is ? What club is he from? What are his credentials? Was he a past player?

  63. Actually, since 2009 we’ve only won 2 U-20 in Connacht in 2016 and 2018!

    It’s a disgraceful record considering our advantage re playing population.

  64. Diabolical stuff. The same old failings similar as the senior team last Sunday. What coaching is going on in Mayo? Lacking in skills lacking in fight, can’t transition, can’t take on a man to create overlaps. Last year was disappointment but today was brutal and this management must go. This team looked as if they never played together.
    I will take a break now for a while

  65. aAsmall bit of respectability those late score. Outplayed all over the field was a 5 point hammering in truth. Lost to Sligo minor by 2 in the same venue in 2020 so have regressed even further now.

  66. Really worrying.
    Have taken our eye off the ball big time at underage the past few years.

    Underage and club scene a slave to the senior County team.

    Sligo putting the work in the past few years building from the ground up and seeing success at schools, minor and u20. That will all pay dividends for them.

    Every single mayo team that goes out for a generation now plays the same template of football, an emphasis on athletic middle 8 players running from box to box but no guile or creativity.

  67. The Mayo from Sunday are in the first few months of new setup. You can forgive that. I know under 20 management don’t have 3 years with the same players but they’ve had three years to implement a decent plan. That’s my thinking @gizmobobs

  68. I’d agree that it has been a very bad few days for Mayo management teams at both seniors and under 20’s level. Set up was all wrong in both games and both teams never looked like they were playing championship football. While that is very concerning, an even greater issue might be the coaching sets ups from top down. It’s all right throwing a €1,000,000 at our senior team this year, that money might be better spent on getting proper underage structures in place. Fenton Kelly played very well in fairness, that’s the only positive that I took from that match. Well done Sligo, a much better team than the 5 points win would suggest.

  69. Comiserations to Mayo lads and thanks for your efforts. congratulations to sligo. No surprise really the management is simply not up to the standard required as was well known for a while now.

  70. True, Tommy Joe, but our senior management have had 13 or so games to develop a system and tactics. With an established group they say is not in need of rebuilding.

  71. Cannot believe the management didnt try pack defense & make a dog fight out of it.
    Did none of them management team not go to the Ros Sligo game where the sligo forwards ran riot.
    Sligo where 10 points to -1 up at one stage

    We had a manger
    3 selectors
    Coach/s&c/physio/kitman/cb liaison

    god give me strength

  72. It goes beyond Sheridan, its a cultural thing in mayo going all the way down to u12s.
    We are producing the same type of player all the way through

    ie ball-carrying athletes

    It’s why we have a bottomless pit of allstar standard half backs but very seldom creative high quality forwards

  73. What do you expect the way our County Board run club football in this County.No County Senior League games played as of yet , and they will be played when our Senior team are playing every weekend in June and July and when all students go off on J1s to America.One of the big football Counties who dont have a County Under 21 championship and when they did have it played it in November and December , all comes back to our County Board.

  74. Give the guys a break wasn’t a great game but these are under age players plenty of time to come on in the years ahead give them some credit I blame the management more then anything as another poster said manager wasn’t positive about a result in pre interview that says it all . Players feed off the manager .

    Bob Touhy and callinan are 2 amazing talents and have been playing great under mcstay so I would question the under 20s management team . But be kind to these young players .

  75. Sligo looked good, physical, direct, well organized and able to take scores. We were the opposite. Out S and C did not seem as good, poor tackling, too slow and lateral, no kick out strategy except drive it long and we lost the high ball and the breaking ball around the middle. Our players are better than the system or lack of they played in. We have several players on the senior panel and several from a minor team that went to the All Ireland final last year. Past time for a change.

  77. It’s like groundhog year…

    Every year we hear about real talent coming through. Mayo success at underage is at a point now where it’s unusual more than common, especially at u20 level which is the most important. God we have been depressingly poor for too long.

    Does none remember the naughties where we dominated Connacht football at u21 and minor? That was the platform for our huge improvement at senior the following decade.

    A defeat like tonight does no good for the mentality of players. It was really really bad. And while management needs changing, the players just didn’t look very good either. The ones who did show some liveliness were from last years minor team. The rest, including those who have featured on our senior team had little or no positive input tonight.

  79. No shock for me. Seen all I needed to see last year. Brutal . Game over . Which is why I questioned the logic of not playing callinan on Sunday. These players are much better than this negative display

  80. Its not directed at the lads , its the lack of football for lads between 18 and 21 in this County .Senior League football is run in Summer when lads are gone on J1s.Theres no Under 21 competition in the County since 2019, very few Mayo lads making Sigerson teams around the Country.

  82. The criticism is not really directed at the players ., listened to sheridan interview on midwest from last week , youd near throw in the towel before a ball was kicked listening to him .

  84. @TH fair enough mayo county board are definitely questionable at times .
    Eoghan mcghloulin made a big impact for his sigerson cup team Tommy c would have been a starter for his college if it wasn’t for the injury there are a good few number of other players on sigerson Cup teams.

    The guys that play senior the likes of Bob Touhy and callinan are def much better then what was on show tonight as another poster above said. It takes a good manager to jell things together and give guys confidence especially at a young age like that.

    As we have seen with mcstay this year even though Sunday was not our day but they have a bigger picture on the minds then connaught .

    Feel bad for the young guys tonight it’s hard loosing like that especially at a young age so I would definitely not be harsh on them .

  85. Agree with @TH about the mess our county board has made of the club scene
    Big trouble coming down the track with our neglect of underage and clubs

  86. I was really suprised Ryan Fadden who is 20 did not start. He’s one of the best at this age.

  87. All – there’s way too much emotion swirling around in the comments tonight. Can everyone please carefully review what they plan to post before doing so? The wailing is reaching embarrassing levels now.

    TH – I’ve edited out the worst of your comment. You could easily have made the same point and would have done so far better without the profanities.

  89. Ok Gizmobobs I’ve learnt to accept the result on Sunday and not going to dwell on what we can’t change.

  90. Is this going to be another game, where a Mayo defeat is blamed on management, and our players absolved of all blame ?

    ”Spotlight ” gives a very sobering statistic above.
    Two Connacht U-20 titles since 2009.
    Maurice Sheridan can’t be blamed for all those defeats , can he ?.. It’s been a long procession of failure by Mayo at this age grade.
    Are we in Mayo, guilty of over rating and over inflating the reputation and ability of our young players ? Are they actually as good as we think they are ? Two Connacht titles in 14 years at U-20/21 level suggests that they’re not.

  91. Hopefully there will be change Clare, some tactics persisted with for 13 or so inter-county games this season already have not proven a success 🙂

  92. Someone above mentioned giving James Horan the u20 job next year. I’d be inclined to agree. I think the job would suit him and it’s not too time consuming.

  93. @Gizmobobs hopefully ha sure was going to be an instant change when mcstay took hold but he’s brought the confidence back.. whatever happened on Sunday I don’t know tired legs couldn’t deal with defensive system who knows but it is what it is ha

  95. I know its a disappointing result from a Mayo perspective, but this has to be the most consistent Sligo have been at underage in quite some time

    Would be really good to see them become a much bigger force at senior in the next decade. The Connacht championship has been all the poorer since their decline in the mid 2010s

    There is nowhere like Markewicz park on a sunny championship day for atmosphere

    It really is a shame the disdain the GAA (or Connacht council – do they control the provincial format?) have for this grade. The Mayo lads, like all teams, deserve a few matches, its a hugely important grade for a young player’s development. Even if Mayo went 0/3 (probably not unlikely!) it would still be great for these lads to get three matches

  96. Don’t think anyone is having a go personally at players, but for a 100% footballing county – with no other distractions – the record in this grade since 2009, as alluded to above, really doesn’t make for great reading

    Hard to pinpoint it really

  97. Agree @ciaran its good for connaught in a way in the long run that sligo are coming up it was great to see 3 connaught teams at the top of division 1 league wasn’t it when connaught is more competitive it makes everyone play better.

    Sure kerry and dubs always waltz through munster and kerry but what good does that do them in the long run ?

    when they run into a real test yes they’ve won all irelands but look at kerry when Tyrone knocked them out in 21 they were shocked as so used to a walk out in munster. And the Dubs this year will win leinster but that won’t show really where they are in terms of division 1 teams who face them later on.

    Anyway hard luck to the young guys tonight who I know will be feeling low and probably reading this blog . Takes a lot to give your time to inter County training and at a young age to so I hope they are not to harsh on themselves !

  99. Someone mentioned above about the club structure within the county. While I am not living in the county I do know my old club in Mayo so far this year have played only 1 o’Mara cup game.
    The county I am in now the club so far this year have played the equivalent of 4 oMara cup games and the first three rounds of the league- that’s 7 games v one game.
    If lads don’t get enough games they will walk away from the gaa.

  100. There is arguably 5 clubs in Galway better or on a par as Westport.thats how poor Mayo club football is at the moment, lost every grade in Connacht club last year.

  101. We are one of the few counties that don’t have a cente of excellence, with proper training facilities and set up. Underage County teams have to go from club to club looking to use their facilities and not knowing where they’ll be training next week. I know this didn’t affect the result today but if any county was truly serious about underage and developing players, then the proper structures should be in place.

  102. clare, i dont see where the comparison with a lack of provincial competitiveness is somehow bad for kerry and dublin – the two counties with the most all irelands and who between them have won 10 all irelands in the last 12 years. Judging from that stat less provincial competitiveness seems to be benefical for counties… not the other way around

  103. @gweestion fair enough entitled to your own opinion can’t see how less competitiveness is better but sure entitled to your own opinion.

  104. How the U20 Connacht championship is not a round robin competition is beyond me. Players and management putting in months of preperation only to be finished after 60mins in in the wind and rain in Bekan is simply appalling. Other provinces can do it so why do we have to be so different? The U17s play a round robin affair so surely the U20s which is the more important age group should get the same.

  105. Sean Burke : “The criticism is not really directed at the players ., listened to sheridan interview on midwest from last week , youd near throw in the towel before a ball was kicked listening to him “

    ….I think this nails the underpinning of what happened.

    The players ( and I’m definitely not blaming them for this )looked De-Motivated.There is no more damning indictment of management than that. Well apart from not learning from previous mistakes.

  106. Lads, does anyone actually know anything about the u20 selector kieran Murphy?

  107. Food4 Thought.
    On the final whistle pod, I got the distinct impression from Maurice of him blaming the team. Maybe time to buy a mirror.

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